Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Yes, by almost any measure. Beaver earns an A+, 5th among Pennsylvania's 1032 graded towns. Its schools outperform 97% of the state's, crime is low: it reports less per resident than 93% of U.S. towns, and CDC estimates put its residents' health ahead of 78% of the country. Its lowest mark, a B, is in cost of living. History is its standout character grade: an A+, better than 99% of U.S. towns, with 2 places on the National Register. Beaver is easier to get around on foot or by transit than 96% of U.S. towns. On history, just 48 of Pennsylvania’s 1,749 towns do better.
Where Beaver beats most towns.
Matthew S. Quay House| School | Grades | Students |
|---|---|---|
| College Square El Sch | K–2 | 400 |
| SS Peter & Paul School | PK–8 | 151 |
| Beaver Area MS | 7–8 | 291 |
Matthew S. Quay House is a National Historic Landmark, the National Register’s top tier.
Census counts: 361 in 1820, a low of 361 in 1820, 4,438 in 2020. The archive holds 14 old photos and papers going back to 1900 and 4 maps from 1901 on.
2 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Pennsylvania), ordered by how far Beaver is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Who provides power, water and the rest in Beaver, and how to reach them.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.
Ordered by what stands out in Beaver.
Beaver has schools in the top 5% of Pennsylvania and has less tooth loss than most of Pennsylvania, but it has seen reported crime rise by about half.
That grade ranks #29 of the 1,037 Pennsylvania towns we grade for schools.
The largest public high school is Beaver Area SHS, with 650 students. The public schools here belong to Beaver Area SD. Of its 4 schools, two are listed below, each with the reason.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| College Square El SchLargest public elementary schoolGrades K–2 | Grades K–2 | 400 | – |
| Beaver Area SHSLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 650 | A+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within PA on state tests and graduation
Reported crimes rose from 16 to 32 over the last three FBI years, a rise beyond ordinary year-to-year swings. Violent crime is rare: 3 reported in 2025, 0.4 per 1,000 residents.
The rate of thefts and burglaries for Beaver comes to 3.9 per 1,000 residents, below both the Pennsylvania town median (5.7) and the median of U.S. towns (9.9). The town’s violent crime rate is 0.4 per 1,000 residents.
| Beaver | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 3.9 per 1,000 residents | 5.7 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 0.4 per 1,000 residents | 0.7 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Its widest gap with Pennsylvania is tooth loss: 6.5% of those 65+ have lost all their teeth, against 14.5% statewide.
The share of adults in Beaver who report frequent physical distress is 12%, where Pennsylvania’s towns sit at 14% and U.S. towns at 14%. Among adults in the town, 19% binge drink. The town does better than the Pennsylvania average on 8 of 26 CDC measures and worse on 2.
| Beaver | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 14% | 16% | 17% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 33% | 38% | 36% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 18% | 16% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 12% | 14% | 14% |
| What stands out | Beaver | PA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 6.5% | 14.5% |
| Fewer adults in fair or poor health | 15.7% | 18.7% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 11.2% | 8.8% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
July afternoons reach 84°, January nights drop to 21° and about 20 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
For working residents in Beaver, the share who work locally is 12%. Half the trips to work are shorter than 13 miles. The top destinations are Pittsburgh (9%), Moon Township (5%) and Brighton Township (4%). Jobs locally fell by 228 from 2013 to 2023, to 2,542.
| Beaver | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Work from home | 23% | 12% | 11% |
| Working residents who work in town | 12% | 6.3% | 8% |
| Below the poverty line | 6.1% | 7.6% | 9.6% |
| Average trip to work | 24 minutes | 26 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
On expected storm and flood damage, Beaver sits below 63% of U.S. communities. Households in the town have drawn federal disaster aid in 2 declared disasters, most recently in 2004. Also worth knowing: of the losses FEMA expects locally, 88% come from inland flooding. Since 1978, one flood insurance claim has been paid locally.
FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
| Beaver | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.3 miles per square mile | 0.5 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 7% | 8.2% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Beaver Greens Park | — | 15 |
| 2. Linn Park | — | 12 |
| 3. Gypsy Glen Park | — | 9 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
A home in Beaver typically sold within 72 days of listing. Values rose 3.7% in the 12 months to September 2026. The midpoint rent for Beaver comes to $874 a month.
| Beaver | Pennsylvania towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 66% | 78% | 73% |
| Median rent | $874 a month | $1,116 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Beaver. Close and well known come first.
Big draw23 mi Stadium & arenaAcrisure Stadium
23 mi LandmarkFort Duquesne
23 mi Stadium & arenaPNC Park
32 mi Theme parkKennywood
24 mi Stadium & arenaPPG Paints Arena
23 mi LandmarkFort PittAcrisure Stadium: Fo2grfr, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Fort Duquesne: Sébastien Paquin, CC BY-SA 3.0 · PNC Park: alpineinc, CC BY 2.0 · Kennywood: Ski2007 of English Wikipedia, Public domain · PPG Paints Arena: Jleedev, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Fort Pitt: Downtown_Pittsburgh_May_2008.jpg: Allie Caufield derivative work: GrapedApe (tal, CC BY 2.0
5 within 15 miles of the center of Beaver
About 4 of every 100 Beaver residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Pennsylvania.
2 places in Beaver on the National Register of Historic Places.
17 notable people were born in Beaver.
Borough in Pennsylvania, US
Beaver is a borough in Beaver County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is located near the confluence of the Beaver and Ohio rivers, approximately 30 miles (48 km) northwest of Pittsburgh. The population was 4,438 at the 2020 census.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
4 towns share a border with Beaver.
| Town | PA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beaver | #5 | A+ | B | A | A+ | A− |
| Brighton Township | #49 | A+ | B− | A+ | A+ | B+ |
| Vanport Township | — | — | A− | — | A+ | B+ |
| Bridgewater | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Potter Township | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Vanport Township has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Vanport Township reports no FBI crime data of its own. Bridgewater and Potter Township aren’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Beaver with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Yes, by almost any measure. Beaver grades A+ overall, among the top 2% of U.S. towns and #5 of 1032 in Pennsylvania. It grades A− for health, A for safety and A+ for schools.
Yes, by national standards. Beaver reports less crime per resident than 93% of U.S. towns, an A Safety Grade: 3 violent and 29 property crimes in 2025.
That is 3.7 years of the area's median household income ($75,762 across the Pittsburgh, PA metro area). Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B.
17 notable people were born here, including John Allison and Rudyerd Boulton.
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